Toshiba says HD DVD set-top players are back in front

Camp estimates 5 million computer drives will be sold through 2008

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 10/9/2007

OCT. 9 | UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif.—HD DVD set-tops have reclaimed their dominance over Blu-ray standalone players, according to weekly NPD Group unit sales figures cited by Toshiba.

HD DVD players began outselling Blu-ray models starting in mid-September and regained a year-to-date lead of a little over 50% through the rest of the month, said Jodi Sally, Toshiba VP of marketing of digital A/V products.

Year to date, according to NPD figures she cited, HD DVD players command 53% of sales; Blu-ray players, 44%; dual format players, 3%.

She acknowledged several Blu-ray weekly victories in the run-up to home theater installer conference CEDIA, but she told attendees at Tuesday’s DVD Forum conference, that Blu-ray victory was short lived. At the time of CEDIA in early September, Sony executives said that the launch of the company’s $499 models, which marked the cheapest available BD set-tops to date, helped boost their August sales.

“When new models hit stores there will be a surge in demand. There were some weeks where we lagged,” said Sally. “But overall HD DVD continues to dominate.”

Toshiba began launching its series of third generation HD DVD players in September. Its new entry-level model, the $299 HD-A3 is beginning to hit shelves in October.

Sally also talked up HD DVD strength within PC drives. Toshiba estimates that 5 million HD DVD drives for desktops and notebooks will be sold during fiscal 2008. She believes that should make the format competitive with the Playstation 3, which was nearing 2 million units sold in the U.S. through the summer. HD DVD laptops are closing in on a relatively attractive $1,000 price point, likely fueling the retail movement.

Toshiba believes more people are buying PC HD DVD drives with the pure intention to watch high-def movies than people who are buying the PS3. Sources have estimated that just 20% of PS3 owners have played movies on the machine.